Page 20 of Courting Trouble

‘You kind of look like her,’ Cassie told her honestly.

Delilah looked slightly startled. Cassie suddenly understood how her comment might be interpreted. Unprofessionally.

‘I should get going,’ Cassie said. ‘I need to call a few clients to tell them not to bother coming today. And you’ve got homework.’

‘Homework?’ Delilah squinted.

‘Watch some doubles. Left-court coverage.’

Delilah gave her a moderate salute. ‘OK, boss.’

Cassie stood, raising an eyebrow. ‘I prefer coach.’

Delilah followed, slinging her gym bag over her shoulder.

At the door, they both paused, a little awkward.

‘Same time tomorrow?’ Delilah asked too casually.

Cassie hesitated, then nodded. ‘Yeah. We’ll make up for today.’

Delilah groaned. ‘You’re gonna kill me.’

As Delilah turned to go, Cassie let herself watch her walk away. Just for a moment. Then she shook her head, stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets, and started walking the other way.

Twenty-One

Delilah was halfway through the car park the following day, headed to her session, when her phone rang. She glanced down to see Matt Hind’s name flashing on the screen, the assistant director. She took a deep breath and answered, trying to sound upbeat.

‘Hey, Matt.’

‘Hey, Delilah!’ he breezed. ‘Just a quick pre-production thing. The movement coach wants to start blocking the injury scene early next week.’

Delilah froze for a second. ‘The injury scene?’

‘Yeah,’ Matt said casually. ‘You know, the bit where Tamsin goes down during the Wimbledon final on page seventy-two. They want to do a test run. Nothing on camera, just blocking the movements so the stunt people can choreograph around it.’

Delilah swallowed. ‘Oh. OK.’

‘No big deal,’ Matt added quickly, as if sensing her hesitation. ‘It’s just footwork and movement stuff. They want to get it right early so everything’s smooth when we shoot. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or so. If you’re busy, obviously, we can get a stand-in, but we hoped…’

Delilah forced a smile she knew he couldn’t see. ‘No, of course I’ll do it.’

‘Great. Everyone’s excited to see you in action.’

He hung up before she could say more.

But the silence that followed was loud in her ears.

Injury scene. Test run. Early next week.

Her heart banged. Delilah wasn’t ready for this. Not even close.

She considered calling Ashley. But what was the point? There was only one person who could help her.

Maybe.

Twenty-Two